Fascinating new research paper asks: why did Biden receive so little political credit for his enormous investments in manufacturing? Turns out people give all the credit to governors (ironically, in this case, mostly red-state governors who were hostile to the policy!).

Wondering when a next-generation battery chemistry will make long-duration electricity storage possible? It is getting closer. Form's iron air batteries could be that technology, providing days, not just hours, of back up. This project is still years away - 2028 - but it could be a game changer.

Today, the Trump administration repealed the endangerment finding: the ruling that served as the basis for limits on tailpipe emissions and power plant rules. Without it, we’ll be less safe, less healthy and less able to fight climate change—all so the fossil fuel industry can make even more money.

As a historian of science, I was raised to think rejecting science was a pathology of anti-democratic governments. Well, this might be the proof of that. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/c...

It is so important to keep hammering in this point. People always ask me why I would have to go visit archives - why not just look at a scan? Because they haven’t been scanned! And they are never going to be! There are millions & millions of pieces of paper in every archive.

Compelling piece from Julie Michelle Klinger on what the US can do to shore up the domestic supply of rare earths - recycle what is already in circulation, reduce waste, and expand domestic processing. #energysky www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/o...

The Trump administration's policies have cost the US yet another manufacturing opportunity: Lyten's plans for a $1 billion lithium-sulfur gigafactory employing 1000 people in Nevada have fallen through, as it shifts its manufacturing plans to Europe. #energysky mynews4.com/news/local/n...

Trump's foreign policy doesn't make any sense. But it might if you look at it through the right lens. My @wellesley.edu colleague Stacie Goddard co-wrote this piece explaining the shortcomings of Trump's "neoroyalist" approach to international politics. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/o...

In 1995, Congressional Republicans eliminated the Office of Technology Assessment - Congress' source of non-partisan scientific & technical advice. Now Republicans have fired or pushed _10,000_ PhD scientists out of the executive branch (over 100Kyrs of experience). www.science.org/content/arti...

In year one, Trump’s policies have SLOWED - closed, delayed, etc. - 70 clean energy manufacturing projects worth $74B and 68,958 jobs. 109 projects have still ADVANCED - moving toward construction or operation - worth $61B and 61,107 jobs. www.the-big-green-machine.com/post-trump-s... 🔌💡

Trump + 11 months: Investments in US clean energy manufacturing were hit hard last month. We are now tracking 69 projects, $70.5B in investment, and 66,758 jobs that have been delayed, shrunk, paused, or cancelled since Trump took office. www.the-big-green-machine.com/post-trump-s... 🔌💡

The suspension is the latest step by the administration to hobble offshore wind in its push against renewable energy sources. It comes 2 weeks after a federal judge struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order blocking wind energy projects, calling it unlawful. 🔌💡 apnews.com/article/trum...

The immediate impact of Ford's retooling is the loss of a lot of jobs. Ford says it plans to hire 2100 people for the new LFP lines - and current BlueOval employees can apply - but that isn't slated to go into production until 2027. #energysky

In 2021, SK and Ford joined forces to build 3 BlueOval battery factories. Now they are breaking up. @electrek.co reports SK is looking for more flexibility to sell to other automakers and for storage applications. Ford keeps KY plants; SK keeps TN plant. #energysky electrek.co/2025/12/11/f...

ASEH Launching New Research Grants for Early Career Scholars ASEH will award up to six $500 grants in 2026 to support early career scholars doing research in environmental history. Apply today by following this link: forms.gle/AQXjPeMw5DBa...

HUGE: In a letter to Congress, more than 140 solar companies detail how the Trump permitting freeze on renewables is worse than imagined and hitting copious projects on private lands They’re asking Congress to intervene and say “bipartisan permitting reform” won’t help without forcing Trump’s hand

Speaking of sensible things, @volts.wtf new solo pod episode is must-listen! 🔌💡 www.volts.wtf/p/whats-goin...

An article I cowrote with Andy Schultz and David McCune providing some highlights from a research project that analyzed various voting systems. theconversation.com/ranked-choic...

I’m proud of the work we have done and continue to do. I’m Trying not to hate the name change, but most of us came here for the mission. Most labs are named after places because they could not or didn’t want to announce their mission. We always got to be proud of ours. I hope we still can be. 🔌💡

1) The editor of Cell Reports Sustainable, a new open-access journal from Cell Press, graciously invited me to do a short Q&A about our new paper, "Distribution grids may be a barrier to residential electrification." Pasting the Q&A in a short 🧵 if anyone's interested. www.cell.com/cell-reports...

Beyond depraved: "Hours after her detainment, court documents obtained by ABC News show that a federal judge ordered the government not to remove the 19-year-old from the U.S. and not to transfer her outside of Massachusetts. But Lopez Belloza was deported to Honduras the next day."

In the US, the lead-acid battery industry, led by @batterycouncil.bsky.social (founded in 1924) has been championing the industry as the model for recycling and re-use lead-acid batteries since the 1990s. Here is what you'll see on their website: batterycouncil.org/battery-fact...

Industry rightly claims that 99% of US lead-acid batteries are recycled. When done cheaply, that recycled lead comes at a grave cost to workers and communities around the world. #energysky

US clean energy manufacturing investments slowed again last month. We are now tracking 64 projects, $66.8B in investment, and 66,488 jobs at The Big Green Machine that have been delayed, shrunk, paused, or cancelled since Trump took office. www.the-big-green-machine.com/post-trump-s... 🔌💡

Wow. Just to add to the data points below. US coal exports in 2024 were ~$9.4B. So far this year, China has exported approximately $60 billion in batteries for battery energy storage systems and components.

"There is no playbook for reducing exposure when people’s homes are being sprinkled with lead dust from the sky." A sobering piece from the NYTimes on the dire consequences of the international trade in recycled lead for front-line communities in Africa. #energysky www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Do you teach #envhist? If so, @aseh.bsky.social's Early Career Caucus has put together a fantastic panel to discuss ideas for planning environmental history courses! Details below…

Hey @volts.wtf - remember your "one weird trick" essay about Democratic trifectas for strong renewable energy policy? House Democrats in the MA Legislature are apparently trying to prove you wrong. commonwealthbeacon.org/energy/sweep...

There are dark clouds on the horizon for Massachusetts climate policy. A new House bill proposes major changes to Massachusetts's policy. See thread below.

Updated data on renewables and energy storage deployment. The race between California and Texas is... how shall we say... no longer close.

For all you IPA fans out there, here is a reason to drink a Heineken (at least when in Southern Europe). Their Portugal brewer is transitioning from fossil-fuel boilers to zero-carbon steam, made possible by a 100MWh Rondo Heat Battery. #energysky www.esgtoday.com/heineken-sig...

For years, Sarah & Doug have been putting together such a clear-eyed, inclusive, and hopeful vision of mobility alternatives. Now they've distilled it into this great book! And it starts with a mind-boggling early Superman comic that they unearthed. What more do I need to say? Go get it!

Apply for an ASEH Travel Grant to the 2026 Conference in Kansas City. Submission deadline is: Nov. 20 aseh.org

Visit the Germinate Website: g-ehr.com for all the latest content in ASEH's new digital publication: Germinate!

Carbon neutrality doesn’t always lead to decarbonization. But who is decarbonizing? We looked at >600 US colleges and universities and found 7 that have decarbonized direct (Scope 1) emissions by at least 50% (usually with ground source heat pump networks). This is possible folks! 1/6

Is the Trump slow down in clean energy manufacturing investments slowing down? Based on events this week, the answer is no. Gotion's plans for the $2.4B gigafactory in MI are dead. Ford just paused F-150 Lightning production. And those are just the biggest slow downs... bridgemi.com/business-wat...

Exciting thread from @jonasnahm.com on the beginnings of a research agenda to track the recent past and guide the evolution of industrial policy. #energysky

This is a really helpful report that explains what Community Benefits Agreements are and how they give communities leverage in negotiations around energy transition projects. Worth reading for the insights, four well-researched case studies, and excellent use of Storymaps!

Is the Trump slow down in clean energy manufacturing investments bottoming out? Our tracking shows that new investments in US clean energy manufacturing during Q3 2025 exceeded canceled or paused projects for the first time since Q3 2024. 🔌💡 www.the-big-green-machine.com/post-trump-s...

It is fascinating to see the expanding role of batteries on California's grid. gridstatus.io has the real-time data! Remarkable that there have been no Flex Alerts for CA since 2022 - real gains for grid resiliency.

Federal workers who issue permits for oil, gas, and mining operations are on the job, along with those working to repeal pollution limits, despite the federal government shutdown, reports Lisa Friedman: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/c... 🔌💡

"Industrial heat accounts for about 25% of global energy use, from cement kilns to chemical plants. Rondo’s heat battery technology offers a simple way to decarbonize that sector." No critical minerals or risk of toxic emissions. Runs on off-peak power. Exciting. What are the downsides? 🔌💡

“A quarter-century ago and flooded a vast area for the reservoir of the Three Gorges Dam. This year, China has been installing enough solar panels every three weeks to match the power generation capacity of that dam.” #energysky www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/b...

"Communities considering geothermal heat pump systems have been concerned about a long-term subsurface warming trend...Because of groundwater flow and winter shutoffs, we cannot identify any evidence of this trend [in this system]" www.geosociety.org/GSA/Publicat...

MA utility's are adopting heat pump rates that reflect that winter-time heat pump use doesn't drive peak demand (which comes in summer). This impressive study from @jpv.switch.box .box makes the case for why this make sense, and why the utility's should do yet more. www.switch.box/mahprates

How many other local and regional solar installers are at risk in the coming years? www.wral.com/story/regula...

Related, on the geoeconomic turn in decarbonization, is @jonasmeckling.bsky.social sky.social in this week's issue of Nature. 🔌💡 "Global competition for the economic benefits of decarbonization has emerged alongside global cooperation on the costs of mitigation." www.nature.com/articles/s41...

"It saves us money, and will continue to save us money,” Steve Fate, president of the West Union District Energy geothermal network in downtown West Union, Iowa, told @mckennapr.bsky.social: insideclimatenews.org/news/2009202... 🔌💡